The British Chambers of Commerce and the Ernst & Young Item Club have urged the monetary policy committee of the Bank to cut the base rate when it meets on Wednesday in order to boost the economy

The Bank of England has been urged to cut the 0.5% interest rate further (Carl Court)

A GROUP of economists and business leaders have urged the Bank of England to
try to boost Britain’s economy by cutting the interest rate this week.

The British Chambers of Commerce and the Ernst & Young Item Club both urged
the Bank of England to take strong action when the monetary policy committee
[MPC] meets on Wednesday.

Andrew Goodwin, senior economic adviser to Item, said: "We do think there
should be a rate cut. The Bank could go down to the rates in the US – 0% to
0.25%. It is not the only answer, but it would help." The Bank has set the
base rate of interest at 0.5% since March 2009. The rate is the lowest in
the Bank’s 300-year history.

The plea for further rate cuts comes after figures last week indicated that
Britain’s is firmly stuck in a double-dip recession. A fall of 0.7% in gross
domestic